Leviathan
by sgtat
Summary: SG1 is imprisoned on a mission and must find a way home...
1. Trapped

It wasn't a very nice place. Low ceilings, damp walls, rough floor, and darkness. That was the final touch, darkness so complete that she couldn't see her own hand in front of her face. They'd shoved her into this place hours ago, and she still couldn't see anything.

At first she'd made noise - yelling to be released, asking if anyone was there, threatening reprisal from her friends and government. Next she'd moved around, exploring the small space with her hands and feet. Now she listened, sitting still and silent in a corner.

Water dripped from the ceiling to her left. Occasionally someone walked by the door to her prison; she could hear the muffled footsteps and voices through the thick door. No sounds of animals as of yet.

Her greatest source of discomfort was the constant tingle in her blood signaling the presence of naquada. It was in the rock surrounding her. That's why they'd come to this place; the mineral was everywhere. Despite her knowledge that there was no goa'uld presence on this world, it was disconcerting to feel so much naquada so near and not be able to actually see the source.

She shifted position, putting her hand on the ground to brace herself. Her palm and fingers burned as she made direct contact with exposed naquada. She withdrew her hand as though she'd been shocked.

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The room was much too small to be comfortable for someone as large as him. He could not stand straight because of the low ceiling. And the creature in his stomach squirmed at the constant presence of so much naquada in the ground, the walls and the ceiling.

He was used to small spaces; he lived in one, though it was, admittedly, not this small. And though it had been some time since the creature within him had been so active, he was accustomed to that as well. The room was dark, and even with the aid of his symbiot he could make out only faint outlines of the room's dimensions. These things did not trouble him deeply. What troubled him was that he had been removed from the presence of his teammates.

He had grown very fond of his teammates. It was not a word he would have used for anyone else, except perhaps Bra'tac and his family. Years ago he would have considered it weakness. But now. Now he knew it was strength. Not of the sort valued by the enemy, but of the sort that really mattered. And that made him untouchable in a way they couldn't fathom. Together, he and his Tau'ri brothers and sister had accomplished great feats. Feats he had once deemed impossible. And many times it was the bond between them that had made possible the impossible. He had the deepest respect for his teammates, and he knew they felt the same way towards each other; towards him. That was strength.

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There was a crack in the south wall. It wasn't wide, but it ran from ceiling to floor in a jagged, almost straight line. It was wet; he could feel the water trickle slowly down inside the crack. It had taken him hours to find it; the walls were rough and uneven. But he had been trained to find such obscure features and it couldn't remain hidden forever.

He sighed and sat down. What difference did it make? So there was a long crack in the wall. So what?

He pinched his nose. It was a good thing it was so dark that he couldn't see anything; his glasses had been removed before he was interred in the small, cavernous room and the constant blur would probably have given him a headache. Of course, he had a bit of a headache anyway because of the helpless situation . . .

If only he could talk to the people on the other side of the thick door. Goodness knows he'd tried, but they either couldn't hear him or chose to completely ignore him. When he grew too thirsty and hoarse and frustrated to keep calling out to them he began exploring his surroundings. That's how he'd found the crack. He would gladly have traded his discovery for an audience with these people's leader. Even if he couldn't talk his way out of this place, at least he could find out why he was there to begin with. The lack of opportunity irked him to no end.

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It hurt like hell but he kept pounding on the door and yelling to be let out. He couldn't keep it up constantly, so he took breaks, counting to 1000 in his head before beating the door for as long as he could make himself. It gave him a sense of routine, a purpose; a certainty. When 1000 came around, he knew exactly what would happen, and this both comforted and frustrated him. He knew it would change nothing, but it was something to do, and he'd go crazy if he stopped doing and just sat and thought things through.

There must be a way out. Other than the thick, immovable door, that is. Not very nice of those guys to lock up their guests in light-tight little rooms with no character; just a square box. He'd been in this type of place before, and he hadn't liked it then, either. He was so going to strangle the first person who opened that door. Then he'd thank them. Strangle then thank. Sounded about right.

He sighed. 697. If only he knew where his teammates were; how they were doing. He'd feel a lot more at ease if he just knew they were okay.

745. They were probably in the same situation as he was. He paced.

829. How were they going to get out of this one? The situation wasn't promising, but if anyone could do it, they could. Of that he was absolutely certain. They always had before. Why should this time be any different?

999, 1000.


	2. Hope

Disclaimer: I have no ownership in the Stargate franchise. If I did, I would not be writing fan fiction.

The scraping had started about an hour ago. It was a faint sound - she almost didn't hear it at all. It seemed to be coming from above in one of the corners. She sat there to hear it better, ignoring the water dripping along the wall. The scratching seemed to come at regular intervals at first, then it slowed down. Now there were several scrapes every few minutes and in between, silence. She'd tried yelling to see if whoever was making the scratches could hear her, assuming it was someone, but to no avail. Either she was being ignored or the sound was significantly muffled. If so, then the scratching she was hearing was probably much louder in reality. But what was it. A hundred theories flashed by but she was so tired, hungry, thirsty and uncomfortable with all the naquada and darkness. She briefly tried to figure out how thick the walls must be, but since she didn't know how loud the scraping sound actually was, it was impossible to calculate. It was time to try to get some sleep. Then she'd think again.

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He had been unable to meditate for very long. He couldn't quite determine why, and that in itself bothered him. He began re-examining his cell. There was no exit save the closed door, which he had discovered to be immoveable. He returned to stand in front of this object. His fingers could feel a minute gap between the door and the wall, but it was far too small to exploit and he found no weakness in the smooth surface of the door. There was no way out. Perhaps he would finally die here. Very well. He'd made his peace with the universe; he'd tried to right his wrongs. Or perhaps one of his teammates would find a way to escape and rescue him, and he would live to fight the Goa'uld another day. He was ready for either option. He would accept his fate, and he would embrace the chance to change it.

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Daniel had never been happier to be an archeologist on SG-1. Because of his first profession he'd found the crack along the wall and, eventually, the chunk of jagged rock he'd managed to pry loose. And because of his training and experiences on SG-1 he had the strength and endurance to use the rock to widen the crack. It was hard at first in the dark, but he soon got a feel for where to swing down and hit the crack. He'd worked methodically at first, never pausing as he hit the crack as though he were chopping a tree. He had no idea if his efforts would do any good ultimately, but you never could tell. Now he was tired and he took breaks. But he still worked at the wall. He knew he needed food and water to keep this up long term, but for now the widened crack and the small pile of rubble at his feet were enough to keep him going. He hacked at the wall until he dropped the rock in exhaustion. Time for another break.

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His hands were crusted with dried blood and bits of the wall. He had no voice left and he was horribly thirsty. He paced back and forth slowly, thinking. Brute force and the persistent annoyance factor hadn't worked. Where were his teammates when he needed them? Sighing, he sat down. Time to concentrate on two things: thinking outside the box for a way to get out, and holding onto happy thoughts. It was difficult to think outside the box when he was, in fact, inside one, but he'd survived much worse clichés than that. The happy thoughts were easy as long as he kept the unhappy ones away. Now, what to do? Or better yet, what would his teammates do? Their penchant for thinking outside of his box, though sometimes - no, often - frustrating, had proven to be an invaluable asset from day one. So . . . What would Daniel do? Might as well start off with the most extreme.


	3. Jail Break

The scraping had stopped some time ago, apparently for good, but she had new things to think about as her fingers probed every inch of space. She'd been searching for ages and only just finished the ceiling, but she was afraid of missing something. In all her worry and discomfort in this air-tight little room, she'd overlooked such a simple and basic element: the air in her cell remained fresh and suitable for breathing. It wasn't air-tight at all. Fresh air was coming from somewhere - there must be a vent or something. The question was where. So she felt along the stone and naquada surface, ignoring the her tingling fingers, thumping the wall to check for hollow spaces. She worked for hours, it seemed. She eventually moved to the next wall, beating back the need to take a break, the desire to give up. _Tap tap tap_. _Tap tap thud_. Sam froze. She knocked on the wall again. _Thud_. Excited now, she kept knocking until the hollow sound was replaced by solid wall. She figured out the dimensions of the hollow bit and was pleased to find that it was plenty big enough for her to fit through. She removed her belt and used the hard edge to scrape away the wall around the vent. Soon she had exposed the area and worked at prying the vent loose. Amazing - it was nearly perfectly disguised to blend in with the rest of the cell. But that was neither here nor there. It took a while, and Sam knew her hands were torn up and Janet would have a fit, but it was worth it. The vent door finally came loose from the wall with a muted _pop_ and Sam set it down. She lifted herself into the vent and started to crawl blindly. 

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He stood quickly as the footsteps approached his cell. They stopped and he moved silently next to the door, which soon creaked open. The guard stepped into the room with his weapon lowered; he was not expecting trouble. He had never dealt with Teal'c. Teal'c made quick work of him, ramming his head into the wall while grabbing his weapon. He stepped into the hall and similarly disabled the other two guards. He stripped them of their weapons and dragged them into his former cell, shutting the door behind him. He found the panel that must lock the door and smashed it with his fist. It crumpled with a satisfying crunch. A weapon in each hand and a third tucked into his belt, he made his way down the dimly lit hall.

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Daniel could have laughed with relief, but he was too busy trying to see without his glasses. Apparently his captors didn't like their prisoners to damage their cells. They came and took him away, one staying behind to examine the damage he'd done with his rock. He'd spent several hours in another holding cell, and now he was being presented to some authority figure. That was as much as he could guess from their strange language. Their tone varied between angry and bewildered. He didn't think anyone had ever done that to a cell before. The chamber they took him to was large and bright with opulence, but not the sort distinctive of a Goa'uld, thank goodness. It was also silent. Perhaps they were waiting for him to talk? He pointed to himself and said his name. One of his guards responded by hitting him across the face and Daniel stumbled backwards as the hall erupted in what sounded like heated arguments. He checked to see if his nose was bleeding, but it was okay. Then he realized nobody was paying attention to him. He took a step backward. Nobody even spared him a glance. He took another step back. And another. Soon he was in the hall. He glanced around. It was empty. With another look at the chamber, Daniel put a hand on the wall to guide him and walked quickly down the hall, squinting and blinking in a futile attempt to bring the world into focus.

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The footsteps came quickly and the door opened almost without warning, but he was ready. He took out the first two guards with ease. The third was a struggle and the fourth, fifth and sixth pinned him against the wall and cuffed his wrists together, throwing in a few punches for good measure. So, he wasn't free, but at least the now-recovered guards were taking him out of that cell. They had just turned the corner when they found themselves face to face with another figure. Jack squinted in the dim light - it seemed awful bright to him - and realized that the figure was none other than a surprised and spectacle-less Daniel. Just as his guards came to the same realization and moved to apprehend Daniel, who backed up and prepared for a fight, Jack took advantage of the distraction and his special ops hand-to-hand combat training and tackled the closest person. Even so, a nearly blind Daniel and a Jack with his arms literally tied behind his back were not enough to bring down six armed guards. As they were being led away again, another figure rounded the corner and started zapping guards right and left - Teal'c. Things were certainly looking up.


	4. Wandering

Sam could hear footsteps below her. It seemed there were people running around everywhere. At first she thought her escape must have been discovered, but if that were the case, surely they would have come after her in the vents - she had neglected to replace the cover in her cell, after all. Something else must be causing all the commotion. She just prayed she'd find her way to the chamber that held the Stargate, or her friends. 

She crawled along in the dark wishing once more for light. At least there wasn't any naquada in the metal surrounding her. Sam rounded a bend and stopped when she saw a faint light up ahead. Practically holding her breath, she scrambled the rest of the way down the vent and found the source of light: the vent opened up into a corridor. It seemed to be empty, as far as Sam could tell, so she carefully took off the vent cover and poked her head out to see better. No one was in sight. She knelt a moment by the opening, debating the merits of pressing on in the dark versus risking discovery in the hall. She finally decided she'd take the risk; at then she could see. She lowered herself out of the vent, dangling a moment by her fingertips before dropping the rest of the way to the ground. She stood still and listened for signs of discovery. None came, and she started walking quickly down the hall.

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Teal'c was glad to have been reunited with at least part of his team. They moved quickly down the halls, shooting anyone they happened upon. He was impatient to be from this place, and it seemed that O'Neill also had little sympathy for the guards they met on the way. Even Daniel Jackson made no protest as they neutralized everyone in their path without hesitation.

Teal'c took a moment to look at the archeologist beside him. He was squinting still and holding onto Teal'c's sleeve for balance, but he was keeping up well.

The rounded a bend and Teal'c saw a man at the far end of the hall. He and O'Neill both shot him before he could react to their presence. So far there was no sign of Major Carter. They needed to find her cell, but so far the only such rooms they had encountered were empty or help strangers. They needed to find Major Carter quickly and then locate the Stargate. These thoughts were all that occupied him as he proceeded down the hallway with his teammates.

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Daniel thought he could see a little more clearly now that his eyes had fully adjusted to the light. Everything was still nauseatingly blurry, though. He had to give most of his concentration to just keeping up with Jack and Teal'c. He supposed it was a testament to the trust that existed between them that he was able to do so - he plunged along at a fast pace, hardly able to see what was in front of him, trusting that the other two men would keep him from tripping over the inert guards they were leaving in their wake. All he needed was a slight hold on Teal'c shirt to keep balanced and he was okay.

He did find himself wishing Sam was there, though. She would have put an arm around him to help keep him grounded, and even if he didn't actually need the extra help, he would have very much appreciated the extra contact. Speaking of Sam, he wondered how they would find her in this place that was beginning to feel like a maze. He'd lost track of how many turns they'd taken, and there were never any off-shoots to the seemingly endless hallway they were traversing. He hoped they run into her soon - they needed to get out of this place, and he knew they wouldn't be leaving without her.

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Jack cursed silently as they half walked, half jogged down the hall. They were running into more and more guards as they went - it seemed their escape had been made known, and he didn't have a clue where they were or how to get out. What the heck was this place, anyway, some kind of joke? They were obviously in some elaborate underground tunnel, but the damn thing didn't seem to go anywhere - it just went. On and on and on. Forever. With no end.

They rounded yet another corner and took out yet more guards. For all their advanced weapons, these guys didn't seem to know what they were doing. Jack marveled that they had managed to capture SG-1 in the first place. And where the heck were they keeping Carter and the Stargate and their GDO's? They couldn't get out of there without all three of those things, and so far there'd been no sign of any of them. Jack was beginning to get very frustrated.


	5. New Developments

-Because 'chiclete' bugged me for an update. :)

Sam was surprised she hadn't run into any guards. In some ways she wished she would - she could disable them and take their weapons, which would make her much more comfortable. On the other hand, she wasn't altogether sure she was up to taking out any armed gaurds - her imprisonment and subsequent lack of food, water and activity were all taking their toll and she found herself weaving a bit in the hall. She was pretty sure the continuing presence of so much naquada was contributing to the problem; she'd never experienced such prolonged, close exposure to so much of the mineral, and her nerves were beginning to feel like they were burning. She plunged ahead without knowing where she was going, but at least she was no longer in her tiny cell.

A low humming sound from ahead caught Sam's attention and she slowed down to walk more cautiously. She moved close to the wall in spite of the naquada, and peered around the corner. There was a barely visible force-shield blocking the path ahead. Sam smiled. She had finally found something.

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Teal'c was beginning to lose patience. This monotonous corridor seemed to extend forever with no reprieve. Shooting everyone in their path, though satisfying, was not helping them escape from this place. A change of tactics was necessary. He communicated his intentions to O'Neill and slowly rounded the next corner. He shot every guard but one, demanding instead that the man lower his weapon if he wanted to live. The man complied and Teal'c rounded the corner, keeping an eye out for any unseen enemies as he approached his prisoner. The man gave him a hard look, but Teal'c had broken more fierce apponents. O'Neill and Daniel Jackson took up defensive positions at both ends of the corridor, though Teal'c doubted his archeologist friend could do much more than shout a warning, hindered as he was by his lack of eye-wear. Teal'c turned his attention back to the man in front of him. He would start with a warning before asking any questions. He shoved his fist into the man's stomache and watched with satisfaction as the shocked man doubled over and attempted to breath.

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It was times like these that Daniel appreciated just how formidable a figure Teal'c really was. He didn't think he'd have kept his lunch if Teal'c had punched him that hard. How lucky that Teal'c was on his side. Daniel tried to ignore the interrogation being persued behind him, keeping an eye out for trouble coming from the hall they'd just left. He heard footsteps approaching and signaled to Jack, who left his post to join him. Three guards approached, running, weapons in their hands but not held very effectively. It was almost too easy, as even Daniel managed to hit one of them, blurred though his vision was. Jack patted him on the shoulder and returned to his own post even as their prisoner started babbling in his strange language. Daniel quickly joined Teal'c and started the process of trying to communicate with yet another alien.

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Jack was getting antsy. They couldn't stay in the hallway, exposed and preoccupied with a prisoner forever. He decided to see if there was an empty cell nearby that they could hide in. He strode cautiously down the hallway, checking for doors. The first several he came across already held other prisoners, but he stopped at the next one. Opening the small window they had discovered in the other cell doors, invisible to those within, he saw a small child rocking herself back and forth in the corner. He didn't have to think about it for long - he opened the cell door and stepped into the opening. The child whimpered and tucked herself into the corner of the room, covering her face. Jack felt himself growing angry with the aliens that had imprisoned not only his team but a little child in such a cruel place. He closed the door and went to get Daniel, Teal'c and company. He'd found a cell to hide in.


	6. Blackout

Tiny sparks flew through the air as Sam tried to hot-wire the force-shield. She was surprised to find that this civilization relied on electricity - all the other races they'd encountered with shield technology used crystals. Another time, she would've liked to study the panel she was fiddling with. Now, though, all she wanted was to find out where her friends were being held and how to get out of this place. Every once in a while she paused in her work to listen for footsteps, but so far she remained undisturbed. With a definite task to focus on, she was feeling less light-headed, too. Sam pulled out a second set of wires and examined the exposed ends. She wondered what would happen if she put them in contact with the other wires. She turned her face away from the panel and touched the two sets of wires to each other. She pulled her hands away with a shock of pain as the lights flickered and dimmed. The panel burst into flames and the hall went dark, the power cut. That was certainly one way to disable a force-shield. 

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The sudden darkness did not find Teal'c unprepared. The moment the lights began to flicker, he'd grabbed his captive's arms behind his back. Now that they were situated in one of thye cells, the door propped carefully open, Teal'c had been standing guard while Daniel Jackson tried to talk to the prisoner and O'Neil tried to talk to the little girl in the room. With the power out, though, Teal'c wasn't taking any chances - his prisoner would not escape. He heard Daniel Jackson growl in frustration - he'd been attempting to draw a Stargate in the air to see if their prisoner knew where it was. Teal'c felt the archeologist's frustration. He, too, was discouraged by this new turn of events. He pushed the prisoner roughly to the ground and pressed his alien weapon to the back of the man's head, demanding to know where the Stargate was. The man simply blubbered incoherently. Teal'c knocked him out in disgust. They did not have time for this.

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Daniel moved along slowly and silently behind Teal'c, one hand in front of him in case Teal'c stopped, one out to the side to help him keep his balance in the darkness. He didn't know how Teal'c could see enough to walk confidently in front, but apparently 'Junior', as Jack liked to call Teal'c's symbiot, was good for more than just a super-immune system and ridiculous strength. Daniel heard soft scuffles behind him that indicated that Jack and the young girl were still following. Daniel wondered why the child had been thus imprisoned. She seemed to have figured out that they were friends, not foes, because she accompanied them quite willingly. Daniel worried about what would happen to her if they didn't make it out. He dismissed the notion immediately, determined to keep a positive mindset despite the crippling darkness. Of course they would make it out. They'd find Sam, they'd find the Stargate and they'd get out of this place. Daniel shook his head, angry with himself for not figuring out how to communicate with their captors. They might have everything they needed to get home already if he had.

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The little girl clutched at Jack's hand like a life-line, and no wonder. He could really wring someone's neck for keeping her in such an awful place. He hadn't thought he'd gotten through to the kid until the lights had suddenly gone off and he'd felt a tiny hand grab onto his shirt. Now they moved cautiously down the hallway, Jack's alien weapon in his free hand. They hadn't met up with too many more guards, and those they had come across had, as usual, been easy work. All they had to do was keep moving and eventually they'd find the Stargate or some kind of exit to the planet's surface. He pushed thoughts of his second-in-command to the background. It would be a miracle to find her in the dark like this. They'd have to come back for her with flashlights once they gated to the Alpha Site. The SGC was out of the question without their GDO's. He just hoped Sam would be alright.


	7. Progress

Sam moved carefully down the pitch-black hall, her hands cradled against her stomach. She still hadn't run into anyone, but now she was grateful for the fact – she did not need to get into hand-to-hand combat now that she had burns on her hands from the force shield panel. Now she just wished a generator or something would kick in and turn the lights back on. She lost track of how long she inched her way through the fascility, but eventually she came to a dead end.

Sam frowned. She had been very careful; she knew she hadn't passed any doorways or offshoots from the hallway. Why would a force shield be placed to block the way to nothing? Wincing as her raw hands connected with the naquada-rich surface of the wall in front of her, she began feeling along the smooth surface, thumping the wall here and there as she had before in her cell. There must be a way out, a hidden panel – something! Gritting her teeth in pain and frustration, she stiffened a moment later when she heard footsteps approaching. She flattened herself against one of the walls and listened. As far as she could tell, there was more than one person approaching, but not many. She forced herself to breath evenly as she waited. Finally she could feel the figures passing by. She breathed silently as they talked amongst themselves in their odd language. Then one of the figures brushed against her and cried out in surprise. Sam grabbed the man as she heard the sound of weapons being primed.

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Teal'c smirked, pleased that he had finally found something to help them. They had arrived several minutes ago in what appeared to be a control room, and disabled all the men working there. Fortunately, the equipment in this room seemed to have an independent power supply and was not affected by the loss of electricity that had disabled the lighting system.

Daniel Jackson was attempting to communicate once again, while O'Neill stood watch at the entrance and Teal'c examined the room's vast array of equipment. Now he had discovered what he believed to be some kind of transporter. With luck, he would learn its use and it would enable them to leave this place and find the Stargate. But first they must find their final teammate, Major Carter. To leave her behind in this place was unacceptable to him.

He approached O'Neill and informed him of his find, then moved to observe Daniel Jackson's progress. He could tell the younger man was frustrated, but the guard being questioned was speaking to him. Unfortunately, the archeologist was still unable to decipher his strange language. Teal'c turned back to the transporter controls. He must learn their operation so that when they found Major Carter, they could leave immediately.

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Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose and went to push up his glasses which, or course, he didn't have. He sighed and turned his full attention back to the alien man he was trying to question. He'd tried every language he knew, he'd tried figuring out their language, all to no avail. And with the lights down, he couldn't draw on the ground or in the air, or use sign language of any sort. How could he communicate with someone who not only didn't speak his language but also couldn't see him?

Daniel froze. Helen Keller. Helen Keller! He grabbed the babbling guard's hand and 'drew' a stargate on it with his finger. The man fell silent. Daniel drew the round circle again. Nothing. Daniel drew the Stargate and a DHD near it. The man kept still and silent. Practically shaking with the need to make him understand, Daniel began drawing all the chevron symbols he could think of. Then all at once something seemed to click for the man. He gripped Daniel's hand and started babbling excitedly. He then turned Daniel's hand over and started drawing as well. Daniel forced down his own excitement at the break-through to concentrate on what the man was now 'saying'.

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Jack knelt by the little girl, who transferred her death grip to his sleeve. He rubbed her shoulder gently with his free hand, keeping alert for approaching enemy soldiers. Once again in his military career, he was playing the 'hurry up and wait' game. It was bad enough under normal circumstances; he hated it in combat situations. He sighed when the child leaned up against him, hugging as far around his waist as her little arms could reach. What on earth were these people up to? Obviously not effective soldiers, they certainly had the advanced technology to present a formidable facade. It was, in fact, this facade that had enabled them to capture SG-1. When they stepped through the Gate onto a planet the MALP had suggested was uninhabited, they had quickly found themselves transported to this fascility, surrounded by armed, seemingly dangerous guards, relieved of their weapons and separated. He only wished he'd know then what lousy fighters these guys actually were. They could have fought their way out instead of allowing themselves to be disarmed.

The girl pulled back and clutched his arm again when Daniel shouted in triumph. Apparently things were finally moving forward, rather than wandering in circles.


	8. Pushing Forward

Carter stifled a cry of pain only to grunt the next instant when an elbow connected with her stomach. What these guys lacked in weapons training they made up for in brute strength. With injured hands and no light, Sam was fighting clumsily, but fortunately her opponents did not seem to have near the level of training or experience that she did. The elbow to her stomach also told her where her nearest opponent was, and she struck out in that direction even as she doubled over. Her fist connected with something soft and she grabbed onto it, ignoring her burning palm. She forced her torso to straighten and shoved her elbow upward. There was a satisfying crunch and a strangled cry – she must have broken his nose.

Sam grinned as she turned to fight another set of approaching footsteps. She clumsily but effectively de-capacitated the man. Then she was grabbed from behind. She stomped down hard on a foot and when she felt its owner lean forward slightly in response, she threw her head back, connecting with his face. They both stumbled backward and fell in a heap together, but Sam elbowed the face beneath her for good measure. She staggered to her feet ungracefully, fists out, listening for the next approach. Silence.

The adrenaline left her body as soon as she knew the threat was over. Pushing past her fatigue, she located each of her new captives, patted them down for weapons and restraints, and tied and gagged them all. When she was done, she leaned against the wall exhausted.

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Teal'c growled quietly at the consol in front of him. He was having great difficulties in determining the proper means of engaging the transporter. Indeed, he was even beginning to doubt that it was a transporter at all. When O'Neill had inquired about his progress mere moments ago, he had admittedly answered more harshly than required, that the understanding of alien technology was usually Major Carter's specialty. O'Neill had simply blinked at him before turning back to the little girl he had brought with them. She had not spoken since they found her, only whimpered occasionally. Her quietness reminded Teal'c of Cassandra Fraiser, and it troubled him that she had been imprisoned in this place.

As the console continued to beep its refusal to work for him, Teal'c exited the program he was trying to navigate and started randomly opening files. He moved past the information given in the strange language, but paused when he came to what appeared to be a map of the facility they were in. Almost smiling, he called Daniel Jackson.

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Daniel ignored Jack's skeptical expression and grinned like an idiot. Once he'd been able to make the captive soldier understand he wanted to know about the Stargate, and Teal'c had found the facility map, everything had started looking up. The soldier had scrolled through the map pages and pointed emphatically at what appeared to be the building's one and only exit to the outside. Since they had gated into a forest before being transported to this miserable place, the Stargate was presumably somewhere beyond that exit. Jack, of course, doubted the veracity of the intel, but Daniel was confident. The man had been a clumsy soldier, a frightened prisoner and an excited informant. Surely such a man would not risk his life giving them false information. And given that he was being escorted down the corridor by a fed-up Jaffa, his life was indeed in danger.

Daniel had gotten used to the dark, blurry world he now inhabited and walked with surprising ease. Jack had taken the lead; Teal'c the rear. After a few moments of talking quietly to the little girl Jack had found, she and Daniel had settled into the middle of the short column. Holding tightly to his hand, the girl tensed at any unexpected sound and flinched away from any percieved movement. Daniel was staying alert himself, watching and listening for any signs of Sam. He and Jack checked every cell they passed but so far they had not found her. He pushed down his anxiety about his teammate and concentrated on remaining perfectly calm for the sake of the little girl attached to his hand.

----------

Jack was beginning to get really worried. They hadn't found Carter yet and the closer they got the "exit" the less likely that blessed event would occur. So far things had gone remarkably well since they'd left the control room, despite his doubts about their information, but he had really been hoping to run into his second before reaching the Stargate. Now he wondered if their escape had made things worse for her. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind. If they didn't find Carter before they got to the Stargate, they'd go home and come back with reinforcements. And flashlights. Or maybe night vision goggles. Those were always cool.

As they rounded yet another corner, Jack found himself face to face with yet another guard. Taken by surprise, the man hadn't even reached for his weapon when Jack shot him. He watched the man slump to the ground then looked back up. In front of him was a wall. With steel ladder rungs in it. He looked upward and squinted, but he couldn't see anything. Glancing back at the others, he sighed and stuck his alien weapon in his belt. Without a word he pulled himself up into the darkness.


	9. Revelation

Sam flinched when one of her new captives woke and shifted around. How long had she been sitting there? She ran a shaking hand through her hair. Shaking? With surprise, Sam noticed that she was shaking all over. Must be the adrenaline crash. Or the naquada. Something. Sam almost laughed irrationally, then put a suddenly aching head in her unsteady hands. She remained still for a moment, catching her breath. When had she started breathing so hard?

As tempting as it was to stay there for another hour or so, Sam pushed herself to her feet and stumbled down the hall. She frowned when she reached a dead end. Why would these people build a force shield blocking the way to nothing? Sam furrowed her brow. She'd already thought that, hadn't she? Unsure if she'd finished checking the wall before being interrupted earlier, she started over, listening for hollow sounds as she painfully tapped the naquada and stone. Just when she was ready to give up, she found something. It wasn't exactly a hollow sound, but it was different from the rest of the wall. Wearily trying every trick she could think of to get the wall to reveal its secret, a control panel finally opened up to her.

For a moment, all she could do was stare at it with horrible realization. Unlike everything else she'd encountered on this planet, the control panel was of unmistakably Goa'uld design.

----------

Teal'c blinked as the lights came on again. He was still climbing the steel rungs in the shaft, almost to the top where the rest of his party awaited him. He recovered to the change in lighting quickly and pulled himself up the rest of the way. O'Neill was standing guard near a large door at the end of the room they were now in. Daniel Jackson was speaking quietly to the child, and their prisoner was sitting in a corner with his hands behind his head. Teal'c was beginning to believe that Daniel Jackson was correct. This man was not lying about the way out of the facility. However, he could not help but wonder what obstacles stood between them and the Stargate. Surely there would be many guards, but these did not worry him. What worried him was that they would encounter something unexpected, or they would reach the Gate only to be transported once more to the vast underground facility, where they would be forced to begin again, perhaps this time facing a more prepared force.

Teal'c forced these thoughts from his mind as O'Neill opened the door and stepped into the sunlight. Teal'c quickly knocked the prisoner into an unconscious state and followed, checking to be sure that Daniel Jackson stepped out behind him with the child. They ran quietly across a clearing and into the woods. There they halted to regroup, as O'Neill would put it, and decid which direction to go to find the Stargate. O'Neil had barely opened his mouth to speak when Teal'c realized that his symbiot was still moving. It had been active the entire time they were within the facility, but once they stepped outside and away from the naquada-rich environment, it should have ceased its activity. Teal'c felt a sudden unease and automatically began scanning the trees around him. If his symbiot remained unsettled, it could mean only one thing: the proximity of another symbiot.

----------

Daniel froze at the sound of a staff weapon being activated. He and the others ducked to the ground immediately in response and Daniel quickly pulled the girl down with him. Scanning the woods for the source of the sound, he thought furiously. The entire time they had been on this planet, there had been absolutely no sign of Goa'uld influence, past or present. Had there?

Daniel replayed recent events in his mind. The technology had been completely un-Goa'uld. It had, in fact, been unlike anything he had ever seen before. The structure of the compound in which they had been imprisoned had also been devoid of Goa'uld influence. Danial's mind clicked as several more staff weapons activated audibly in a rough circle around them. The naquada. It was everywhere on this planet, Sam had told him – that's why they'd come here. The stuff was practically a Goa'uld magnet. They must have discovered this place about the same time that SG-1 had, and now the Goa'uld exploration had unfortunately coincided perfectly with their escape.

Daniel suddenly registered the little girl pulling away from him. He reached out to take her hand again but she stood and moved out of reach. She gave him a strange smile, and Daniel's blood ran cold as her eyes flashed white.

----------

Jack gaped. He was taken so completely by surprise that it took him a full two seconds to raise his borrowed weapon. He hesitated yet another second before firing point blank at the child he had so recently been determined to protect. The energy from the weapon was uselessly absorbed by the Goa'uld's personal shield. Jack felt sick. He hadn't even seen her pull out her hand device from some hidden pocket while they caught their breath in the trees, but it was unmistakable now, adorning her tiny hand. It looked like it had been made specifically to fit the small host.

Jack barely noticed the Jaffa approach, and he handed over his weapon without protest. They'd been duped. The whole thing had been a ruse. A trick. A very, very clever one. Jack looked for a moment at Teal'c. The large Jaffa seemed just as shocked as he was, troubled and angry. And Daniel . . . Daniel looked like he's swallowed his brain whole. The possibility that the innocent, frightened child they had stumbled upon was merely a façade to play with their heads had never occurred to any of them. Jack swallowed against the bile that rose in his throat. This was wrong. Very wrong.


	10. Determination

Sam slammed the panel shut and stared at the wall. The lights blinked on suddenly and she looked around, momentarily disoriented. Another of her new prisoners stirred and Sam's head suddenly cleared. Although the pounding headache was still there and the naquada irritation was beginning to make her stomach squirm, the fogginess was gone and she was no longer shaking. She armed herself quickly before opening the control panel once more. Sam pried the cover off and pulled out the drawer containing the panel's crystals. She needed to find the guys. She needed to figure out what this Goa'uld was up to, hiding its presence on the planet. And she needed to escape this underground naquada trap before it drove her insane. But first, she needed to figure out what the control panel's purpose was and how to activate it.

----------

Teal'c clenched his teeth as he was forced to re-enter the underground prison the same way he had escaped it. He cursed himself for not noticing his symbiot's discomfort earlier and realizing the danger they were in. He cursed the naquada-saturated rock of the compound for preventing him from sensing the symbiot the child carried. Angry, he irrationally cursed Daniel Jackson for not seeing signs of a Goa'uld presence, and O'Neil for not noticing when the child slipped on her hand device. He cursed Major Carter for her absence, and the child for being the chosen vessel of the parasite she carried. He refocused his anger and cursed the Jaffa escorting him back to his cell for their blind faith in their "god". But mostly he cursed the Goa'uld who had taken this young child as host, played games with them, and smiled in triumphant pleasure at their reactions when she'd revealed herself. He clenched his fists at his side and vowed that if they could not escape with the child and free her of her oppressor, he would kill them both himself.

----------

Daniel was numb. He wasn't sure if it was on purpose or not, but they had taken him to his cell last. First he watched them lock up Teal'c, then Jack. Before they closed the door to his own prison and left him in darkness again, he caught sight of the chunk of rock he had been using to try to free himself before he had been removed from his cell by the people he'd thought were his captors. He fought the sudden need to retch. This Goa'uld seemed more and more like a master at mind games, locking him up in the same cell as before, mocking him with the hope of escape the tool had given him before.

Daniel staggered across the tiny room and sat in the corner, bringing his knees up to his chest as despair engulfed him. He knew with utter certainty that in this place, he was powerless. As if to drive the point home, the Goa'uld had dismissed most of her Jaffa to apprehend Sam, leaving only two to escort him to his cell. Finally they had met a Goa'uld who seemed smarter than she was arrogant, but Daniel felt a strange lack of curiosity about her. What did it matter anyway?

----------

Jack sat in the middle of his cell. Never in his tenure as commander of SG-1 had he felt so defeated. As they had closed the door behind him, Jack heard the Goa'uld ordering its Jaffa to find Major Carter, who apparently had been allowed to wander in the ventilation system long enough. After they had left with Daniel, Jack sank down to the ground, his head spinning. It was hopeless. Their whole escape had been "allowed" to take place. Why? Were they the day's entertainment? Was the Goa'uld studying their tactics? Was this some new form of torture? For a moment, Jack didn't even try to get a hold of himself. The men of SG-1 were stuck, and Carter was about to be apprehended and returned to her own impenetrable cell.

At the thought of Carter, Jack sat up a little straighter. Until the Goa'uld had spoken, he had assumed that she was still locked up. But she wasn't. Like them, she had found a way out of her cell and right now, the Goa'uld didn't seem to know exactly where she was. Jack felt himself smiling. As long as Carter was "wandering in the ventilation system," there was hope.


	11. Regrouping

Sam furrowed her brow. The crystal pattern didn't make any sense. It was unlike anything she'd ever encountered with the Goa'uld or any other civilization. If you could call the Goa'uld a civilization. The word implied that the race was actually civilized. Sam shook her head and turned her thoughts back to her task. She'd begun occasionally spacing out a while ago and it wasn't helping her figure this panel out. She took a deep breath and it out slowly. 

Okay. Normally panels like this had clearly arranged crystals, varying in size, color, shape or a combination of the three, guiding the informed technician and protecting the panel from sabotage by someone who didn't know any better. These crystals all looked the same. Sam fingered the end of one thoughtfully. What would happen if she just pulled it out? So far, she had refrained from actually removing any crystals because she didn't want to inadvertently fry something or alert the Goa'uld to her position.

Sam froze when she heard someone approaching. She shut the panel and pressed herself into the wall, weapon ready. The sound grew closer, but something about it was odd. As it grew closer and closer, Sam began to panic. Why couldn't she see anyone? Did they have personal cloaking devices? Her gut squirmed as she maintained her position against the naquada-rich wall. Then they were upon her. The noise was to her left, in front of her, passing to the right. Above her. Sam looked up. They were on the next level? But why was the noise so loud? She blinked with realization. The vents. Someone was crawling through the ventilation system. They were looking for her. They knew she'd been up there. But they didn't know where she was now.

Sam sagged against the wall for the second time that day, shaking once more. It took her a few moments to catch her breath and get control of herself. In the end, she had to stand in the middle of the hall - it seemed huge amounts of naquada didn't agree with her nerves. Literally and figuratively. Sam took a deep breath and turned back to the panel, opening it up again. She had to figure this out before they realized she wasn't in the vents anymore. Pushing against her fear, she reached a still slightly trembling hand out and randomly chose a crystal. She tightened her fingers around it and pulled up.

----------

Teal'c sat in the middle of the room. He had recovered from his irrational anger before, and now he sought to settle his mind. Perhaps he could determine a new means of escape. Not so long ago, such a thought would have been deemed useless, but his time among the Tau'ri had taught him much. O'Neill believed a captured warrior should always attempt to escape, regardless of the situation.

So he began to consider his situation more carefully. Clearly there was little he could do while trapped in this confined space. But now that he knew it was a goa'uld holding them captive, he knew what to expect. This goa'uld had not acted like the others he had encountered so far, except in its arrogance. It had taken a huge risk letting them escape as far as the woods outside the complex, and Teal'c believed that its arrogance had only increased because of their recapture and surprise. That, he vowed, would be its undoing. It would make another mistake soon. It would send its minions for Teal'c to question him, to taunt him. To break him. It would then be time to make good his escape. A real escape. One not foreseen and possibly even planned by the goa'uld. One that ended with its removal from its too-young host, or the snapping of its neck. The only thing that would remain to be done would be to locate the rest of SG-1 and make their way back to the Stargate.

O'Neill and Daniel Jackson had undoubtedly been returned to their cells, as he had been. As for Major Carter, Teal'c could not be certain where she was. It was most likely that she also remained confined in a cell. It was, however, also possible that she had escaped. This did not seem likely - if that were the case, the goa'uld would have been extremely displeased. Instead she was smug. It was also possible that Major Carter was, even now, being tortured by the goa'uld.

The thought made Teal'c clench his jaw. Although Major Carter was an undeniably strong warrior, he had, over the years, come to regard her as a younger sister, and that sort of relationship did not come without certain feelings of protectiveness. If this goa'uld harmed Major Carter, it would live to regret it, just as all the others had.

----------

Daniel sat in the corner, his head back against the wall, his eyes closed. He had never felt so useless. He studiously ignored the rock he had used earlier to try to escape. Any minute now Sam would be recaptured, if she hadn't already, and put back in a cell just like this one. Just like this one. Without hope of escape again.

Daniel sighed. It was times like these that he missed…everyone. His parents, Nick, Shau're, Skaa're, Kasuf, everyone else on Abydos, and his teammates. Not that they were often in situations exactly like this one. They did seem to get themselves in seemingly hopeless situations, though. Daniel had to chuckle. They were always getting out miraculously, like someone was watching out for them in the end. Of course, they were usually together, too, not alone like now. Daniel sighed again.

It would be so easy to give up now. He'd done what he could; he'd tried getting out, he'd used the rock, he'd slipped from the room when he was removed from the cell, he'd even managed to communicate with a captive alien who had led the team out of the nightmarish complex. He'd done everything he could, and where had it landed them? Right back where they'd started. Obviously, it was no good trying to escape.

Daniel heard a scuffling sound outside his cell. He tipped his head down to look in the direction of the entrance to his cell, unable to actually see it in the complete darkness. Then he heard a grating sound that he recognized: the door was being opened. He stood in preparation for his removal from the room by the goa'uld's Jaffa, though he wondered why he bothered. He blinked in the harsh light as the door opened fully. Nothing happened. In a moment, he could see. The Jaffa had not come for him. The aliens had. More specifically, the alien he had talked to. It was holding his glasses out to him.

----------

Jack prowled slowly around his cell letting his hands drift over the surface of the wall. Normally he didn't have much patience for such things, but the Goa'uld had said Carter was in the ventilation system and that got Jack thinking. Maybe there was a vent in the cell. After all, he wasn't suffocating and he could detect no cracks around the door that would let in any air. He knew the Goa'uld or her minions probably had some sort of surveillance system in the cell, but hey - if they weren't sure where precisely Carter was, that meant that they did not have reliable surveillance in the vents, so all he had to do was get in one and get lost. So to speak.

Jack knew Carter would come for him and the other guys eventually, but he didn't intend to sit twiddling his thumbs and waiting. If he could get out too, maybe he could help her out. Besides, that way, if she got found, they'd have a contingency plan with him out wandering the halls. Or vents. Whatever.

He practically growled in frustration as the wall turned up nothing and he moved to the next one. He took a deep breath before he started, not wanting to miss something because he was frustrated. He let his hands slide slowly over the wall, covering every inch with painstaking precision, cataloguing every bump in the rock. For nothing. In the end, there was nothing. He'd even searched the floor in his desperation, and now he was too tired to go over it all a second time. He'd just take a break. A nice, long break. Like, forever. He obviously did not have the Carter touch. There had to be another way out. He just had to think of one.


	12. ThreeWay Split

Sam sighed with relief when nothing happened. She turned the removed crystal over in her hands, examining it. She took a look at the control base where it fit. Something seemed slightly off and she took a good look at the whole control panel. Normally the crystals fit into a base that left little room between the bottom of the crystal and the bottom of the panel drawer, allowing the ship's systems to easily interface with the crystal. But this base did not go all the way down. It left space underneath it and elevated the crystal. Sam got down on her knees in excitement and inspected the underside of the panel drawer. Sure enough, the pocket for each crystal was arranged at a different height than the others. This allowed for crystals of different lengths to appear, from the top, as if they were all the same. But they weren't. The pattern was in the length of the crystals. Now all she had to do was figure it out.

----------------------

Much time had passed with no one coming to question him. The thought of what this unusual Goa'uld could be doing instead was disquieting. He considered kel no'reem, but the naquada in the rock left his symbiot too restless. So he closed his eyes and planned his revenge instead. If the Goa'uld could not be removed from its unfortunate host, he would kill it, this he had vowed immediately. But how? If it harmed Colonel O'Neill, he would kill it swiftly with great satisfaction. A snap of the neck. If it harmed Daniel Jackson, he would shoot it fatally and watch the white fade from its eyes. If it harmed Major Carter, he would mortally wound it, say a few choice words that he was planning even now, and then complete the gruesome task. His grim thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his cell door being opened. He prepared himself swiftly for battle, but there was no need. Daniel Jackson stood in the hallway beyond with the cooperative alien, his glasses in place. Teal'c smiled and inclined his head.

----------------------

Daniel patted his new friend on the shoulder with an encouraging smile. Now that they had Teal'c and were on their way to get Jack and Sam, he was feeling pretty good. They had an ally on the inside now, and he had his glasses. He smiled in anticipation as the alien man opened a random door. Daniel blinked. No Jack or Sam.He looked down at a mass of black materials on the floor of the small room. It was their gear. Teal'c grunted with satisfaction and reached in to grab their supplies. Daniel fluidly donned his black vest, checking for the presence of his radio. Teal'c handed him a GDO, which Daniel trapped to his forearm for convenience. He was starting to feel like himself again. He had his glasses, he'd made an alien friend, and now he suited up for a real escape. He couldn't completely suppress a niggling doubt that it was all another facade, but he was determined to remain positive. After all, they had their gear now. He smiled at Teal'c when the Jaffa flung Jack's vest over his own shoulder and handed Sam's to Daniel. The promise was apparent: They'd find their teammates and they'd go home.

----------------------

Jack could've kicked himself. Literally. He could have. Kicked himself. He just chose not to. Waste of time and energy and all that. Instead he concentrated on doing what he should have done the first time- tapping on the rock surface surrounding him, listening for a hollow sound to signal the location of a vent. No doubt Carter had though of it right away. Well, that's why she was out there and he was . . . in here. What he wouldn't give for some C4 and enough space to safely detonate it. He had to grin at the thought, but footsteps outside his door had him preparing for a fight. The door to his cell opened and he lunged at the closest figure, bracing himself for contact. In front of him. He was not braced to be slammed backwards into the opposite wall before he was within two feet of his target, thrown back by the power of a hand device. The wind knocked out of him, he sagged on the ground where he'd fallen, taking in a sight he hopped he would never live to see again. Flanked by two oversized-load Jaffa was the child who had been taken over by a sick, evil, twisted, snakey parasite.


	13. Surprise!

It was pretty easy to figure out, given the limited uses of Goa'uld wall-panels. There were really only two main uses, though they d certainly seen others. It probably either activated a set of rings, which Sam didn t see anywhere around her, or opened a door, which she also didn t see but figured there could be a secret passage or something. The main point was to figure out how the length pattern of these crystals corresponded to the color patterns she was used to dealing with, and she d always had an eye for patterns. She probably could have figured it out even quicker if the naquada wasn t so distracting.

Her prisoners had all woken but learned very quickly to keep quiet if they wanted to avoid further bruises. They watched her curiously, except the one she s had to knock out again, lifting their heads to see but not trying to move around beyond that. She had to wonder about them. They certainly didn t seem like normal soldiers. They hadn t even tried to use their weapons as a threat earlier, though she hadn t expected them to actually fire; they could have hit each other in the dark. They also hadn t been very good at hand to hand. The way she was feeling, she shouldn t have been able to subdue them. They were strong, but they d been awkward and slow. They hadn t liked waking up bound, but they caught on quick that their best option was to relax, and Sam thought she detected a little respect in their eyes.

Maybe they weren t the real problem here. She knew the goa uld had to be her focus now that she knew there was a presence here, but she d reserved quite a bit of worry for the aliens. Maybe she didn t need to, she considered as she figured out the panel. She still didn t know what it did, but she knew how to trigger its function. She rearranged some crystals and put the last one in place after a slight pause. She d scoured the ground for a ring platform and turned up nothing, so she was surprised to hear one activating. A set of rings encircled her, dropping one by one from a platform she hadn t noticed because it was located in the ceiling. That was certainly an odd choice. She wondered if it would also deposit her from a ceiling.

--------------------

Teal'c growled with frustration. The gestures Daniel Jackson and the alien were exchanging were clear even to him - the alien had expected O'Neill to be within the empty chamber they had just opened. He was not. Teal'c stepped into the cell and observed its interior. No sign of an escape was apparent - he had been taken, and Teal'c knew there could be only one reason for his removal from confinement.

He stepped out of the room with determination and moved down the hall without comment. He knew Daniel Jackson and the alien would follow. He must find O'Neill quickly - this Goa'uld was unlike any they had previously encountered, and he had no doubt that O'Neill would also be struggling to come to terms with the host's extremely young age.

The Jaffa paused as the alien tapped his arm and moved past him, motioning him to follow. Teal'c raises his brow skeptically at Daniel Jackson, but the archeologist simply swept his arm out in a gesture that clearly indicated they should follow the alien. Teal'c gritted his teeth and did so. They last time they had followed the alien, they had fallen into a Goa'uld trap. But then, they had been led out of the complex. If they alien knew where they had taken O'Neill, it was best to follow his lead. So Teal'c followed, hands clenched tightly on his staff weapon, ready at any moment to make the killing shot.

-------------------

They rounded a corner and Daniel could hear a voice in the distance. He clenched his jaw when he registered the unmistakable metallic taint of the Goa'uld on the small, high-pitched voice of a child. Teal'c stopped the alien s progress and Daniel motioned that he should remain behind while he and Teal'c investigated. The alien shook his head vigorously. He should go into the chamber with the Goa'uld alone, and Daniel and Teal'c should enter on his signal. It took a frustrating amount of time to understand this, distracted by the Goa'uld's muffled voice in the background, but Daniel finally understood. The alien seemed to know what he was doing, and Daniel found himself reluctantly agreeing.

He knew Teal'c liked the idea even less than he did, the large Jaffa's eyes narrowing with suspicion at their guide. But he listened to him and Daniel hoped his trust wasn t misplaced. He was feeling apprehensive himself as their guide walked swiftly but quietly down the hall toward the sound of the Goa'uld's voice. The alien flashed him a big smile before entering the room and Daniel wanted to groan. This new ally obviously had no idea what he was going up against.

He and Teal'c crept silently toward the room as the Goa'uld's voice was replaced by the alien s, prepared to deal with whatever mess they were about to find themselves in. The Goa'uld's voice broke in harshly over the alien s, and a moment later he flew from the room into the corridor, smashing into the wall from the force of the ribbon device.

-------------

Just what he always wanted. Tortuous death at the hands of an maliciously evil-possessed but otherwise completely adorable eight-year-old. Jack was having no problems disconnecting host from parasite in his head. She was taunting him with her all-powerful, all-knowing, all-gloatingness. So far all he d taken was a couple of sucker punches from the Jaffa who d shackled him to the wall for his interrogation. The questions themselves hadn t started yet. Jack figured he had about two more minutes on the clock before the mental warm-up was over and the real fun began. The snake was slinking towards him in preparation from the grand opening when one of the aliens entered the room.

Scratch that - the alien - the one who'd gotten them to the surface earlier. Jack's mind went into overdrive trying to figure out what this meant. There was nothing he could do to help himself escape if that s what this visit heralded - he was locked to wall by his wrists and ankles with strong iron clasps, and the big Jaffa on his left had the key. All he could hope to contribute was noise.

Jack wasn t sure what, if anything, the alien had planned, but it certainly wasn't being thrown out of the room by an energy blast from a very angry-looking Goa'uld. The snake turned back to Jack, eyes flashing as it advanced with greater speed than Jack expected from such a small body. It opened it's mouth to speak but the words stuck in its throat when it was hit by a staff blast from behind. The two Jaffa moved but the P-90 bullets and the blast from the weapons his friends held were faster and the goons dropped like stones. Jack had the vague impression that he should have been pleased.


	14. Headway

Author's note: Just in case you're wondering, allow me to explain this story: I originally intended the first chapter as a one-shot; I started with the idea for Carter's section, then decided to see if I could write for all of them without using dialogue or their names and create a clear sense of who was who based on how they reacted to their surroundings. People liked it and expected more, so I wrote more, making it up as I went. I think I've figured out what to do with it now, though, so hopefully I can finish it without too long of gaps between chapters, as has been the case in the past. Thanks for reading!

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Sam tensed at the sight of so many weapons pointed at her. The ring platform she had engaged had dropped her into a small control room by the looks of it, crowded with the aliens. She put her hands in the air and they disarmed her, motioning her off the ring platform while several of them talked among themselves animatedly. Three of the aliens went to the ring platform and studied it, as though they'd never seen it before. Since it, too, was located in the ceiling, Sam figured it was possible they never had. After a few minutes, they prodded her back underneath the rings with the other three aliens, and made gestures at her while they babbled in their language. Sam finally understood they wanted her to activate the platform; the three aliens would go with her back to the hallway.

She hesitated. If the aliens didn t know about the ring platform, was it possible they were unaware of the Goa uld s presence among them? The Goa'uld were not known for secrecy but they'd hidden themselves in other civilizations before. These aliens might be totally unaware and, in that case, perhaps they could work together. Maybe a good-faith gesture was in order.

Sam tried to communicate that she needed the control panel and wished Daniel were there to help her, but they finally allowed her to search the wall for it. It took a while, but she did eventually find it. She rearranged the appropriate crystals and stepped back under the platform just before the rings activated.

They were deposited back in the hallway, and it was obvious to Sam that the aliens had never used a set of rings before. Their surprise at the device was soon replaced with their concern for their still-tied up comrades, who they quickly released from their bonds. Sam stiffened as one of them approached her. He talked to the others and gestured at her, clearly explaining what had happened. Sam was surprised when, as he finished his explanation, all eyes turned toward her with awe and hope. She took an unconscious step back and they smiled at her.

----------------

Teal'c checked to make sure the young goa'uld was dead, squashing the regret he felt at killing her. It had to be done. He removed the tiny hand device and shot it with his staff weapon. Such a thing was, as O'Neill would say, just wrong. He watched as Daniel Jackson unchained O'Neill from the wall. He did not think the military man would be happy that he had killed the parasite, since doing so had also meant the death of the young host. He was correct. O'Neill regarded him with stony eyes, a mixture of gratitude and displeasure and mourning.

Teal'c bent down and carefully, gently lifted the child into his arms. It was possible there was a sarcophagus nearby and, without the ribbon device, she could do them no harm as they were armed. Perhaps she could be revived and handed over to the Tok'ra, who could them furnish a removal of the symbiot. Teal'c watched as O'Neill realized his intent. He slapped Daniel Jackson on the shoulder and the two moved into the hallway with Teal'c following. They revived their alien friend, who smiled tiredly at them and began communicating with Daniel Jackson once more, pointing at each of them in turn and then to the empty space beside them, and then holding up four fingers. Teal'c straightened in satisfaction as even he understood that the alien would help them find Sam.

-----------------

Daniel pushed his impatience aside as Jack told him to ask about the sarcophagus first. If Sam was captured, she would likely be brought back there, and they could ambush her captors, but there was a limited amount of time to revive the Goa'uld. Daniel tried everything he could think of to ask about the sarcophagus, but the alien was unable to understand his meaning. Daniel was either doing a bad job with his charades, or the alien had no idea what a sarcophagus was. He threw up his hands in frustration. He had no idea what to try next.

The alien seemed very subdued after that and the two of them just sat staring at each other for a moment. The alien gestured sadly to the little girl and approached her and Teal'c. He put his hand on the girl s forehead and motioned for Teal'c to put her on the ground. The Jaffa did so and the alien began chanting something in a forlorn voice, probably some kind of mourning ritual. Daniel stood entranced until Jack started snapping at him - it seemed they had company again.

------------------

Jack's finger itched toward the trigger of the P-90 Daniel had handed him when he and Teal'c made their rescue. There were heavy footsteps approaching their position, and lots of them. It had to be Jaffa. Daniel had gotten the signal and quieted their alien friend, who remained by the child with his hand on her forehead, chanting silently now and swaying over the body. Jack's jaw clenched. He knew it had to be done, but he wished they could have saved her. She couldn't have been more than eight years old - what kind of life had she had? How long had she been a prisoner in her Goa'uld-infested body?

He jerked his thoughts away from that line and concentrated on the approaching footsteps. It didn't matter. She was dead and they had no way to find a sarcophagus. They had to concentrate on finding Carter and getting out of there. He figured the approaching Jaffa would turn the corner in about thirty more seconds, and soon enough he saw their approaching shadows. He prepared to fire as Teal'c settled into position beside him. A foot became visible down the hall; a body started to turn their way. Then there was a wrenching sensation, and they were in a small control room staring at Carter and a bunch of smiling aliens.


	15. Reunion

Sam smiled brightly at her teammates when they appeared before her. The timing had obviously been good – her teammates were in position for a fire fight. Her eyes naturally fell on the Colonel first. He looked tensely at the aliens surrounding them and Carter assured him they were safe. She started to explain, but he cut her off – it would have to wait until later. Sam looked to Daniel to step in and begin meaningful communications, but his attention was with another alien who'd been beamed up with them. He held in his arms a very young, very lifeless little girl. Her clothes and hair were matted with blood, and Sam approached without conscious thought.

Teal'c stood nearby and she asked quietly what had happened. He explained succinctly. Sam stared a moment longer, then turned away, feeling more than a little unsteady. The naquada, the stress, her hunger and dehydration all combined with the sickening fate of the little girl and made the room spin. The Colonel must have noticed because he stepped over to her and put a hand to her elbow, asking in a low voice if she was alright. She nodded slightly enough to avoid throwing off her equilibrium any more than it already was. The Colonel hesitated for a moment, and then his hand was gone and he moved to speak with Daniel and the aliens, as far as they could. The one holding the Goa'uld placed her gently on the floor in a corner of the room, knelt beside her, and began quietly chanting. Sam felt Teal'c stand beside her as she regained her sense of balance and squelched the nausea. He said nothing, and Sam was grateful.

* * *

Teal'c stood silently beside the woman he had to consider his sister. He knew her well – she did not enjoy appearing weak. The fact that she was visibly attempting to remain calm was disconcerting. She did not appear to be badly injured, though Teal'c could see a good number of bruises and a few scrapes on her hands. He considered that the discomfort caused to his symbiot from the naquada must also be causing her discomfort. She had looked pale and slightly unsteady even before she had noticed the child.

Teal'c frowned and looked toward the former Goa'uld. The alien continued to chant over her, while several more came to look. They spoke among themselves, but they did not become agitated. The several aliens trying to communicate with O'Neill and Daniel Jackson also did not appear to be a danger – they were curious and frustrated and leaning forward to listen and watch Daniel Jackson as he attempted to mimic their language's sounds and gestured with his hands and arms to try to communicate non-verbally. He stopped at one point to look around, shrug, and mimic writing on paper. After several tries, one of the aliens seemed to understand and left. The chanting alien finished his recitation, stood, and made his way to Daniel Jackson. He expressed his sadness about the girl, as far as Teal'c could tell, and seemed to try to introduce himself. The linguist understood immediately and returned the gesture. The alien smiled and repeated Daniel Jackson's name.

* * *

Once Hvratha, the alien who had helped them, joined him, Daniel began having much more success. Another alien brought him a writing implement and a tablet of some unidentifiable material and Hvratha, remembering their earlier 'conversation', took it and drew the Stargate. He said a few words to the others who nodded in understanding. Then he spoke very quickly, gesturing to the girl in the corner, and to Teal'c and the rest of them. He was speaking much too fast for Daniel to hope to catch on, but the other aliens certainly seemed to like what they were hearing. One of them, who seemed to be the leader, spoke rapidly to Daniel and, when he remembered Daniel couldn't understand him, took his own turn at the tablet. When he handed it back to Daniel, he saw the alien had drawn three figures. One was a Jaffa holding a staff weapon and lying on the floor. The others were one of the aliens and what appeared to be Daniel himself, standing over the Jaffa. The message was pretty clear.

Jack smiled tightly when Daniel showed him the drawing. He looked to the aliens and shoved a magazine into his P-90, then held it loosely in his arms. They beamed back at him. Daniel shook his head and got to work, translating between Jack and the alien leader and Hvratha. Normally Jack would want to call for back-up first, but the aliens insisted there weren't many Jaffa, and Daniel thought his friend was out for a little vengeance, too. Jack was a quintessential American warrior: a tough guy who enjoyed blowing up the bad guys, with a huge soft spot for children. The quickest way to get on his bad side was messing with a kid. Daniel had seen it before, and he knew the incident with Jack's son had only served to further solidify Jack's feelings on the subject. So he translated as best he could, Jack all business, the aliens all hope.

* * *

Jack had worked with some weird aliens in the past, but these guys really took the cake. They carried big sticks but they walked softly. He'd never seen a more passive group in possession of cooler assault weapons. Daniel said something about the appearance of being threatening providing them with a defense mechanism. It had apparently kept the Snake-Heads away from their planet for a very long time. Obviously someone had finally figured out it was all for show. Luckily this Goa'uld was extremely minor, hoping to rise to the status of system lord with all the naquada on the planet; she only had a few Jaffa. Jack figured they'd personally met at least half of them. Turned out he was right – they had some sensor-thing that allowed them to track the Jaffa. Carter said something about the aliens having a unique something-or-other in their physiology, so anything moving around that didn't have … that … was a bad guy. Or us.

Jack asked Daniel delicately about all the aliens they'd shot earlier. Daniel smiled and explained that the alien weapons had no kill setting – they were purely stun guns. Thankfully, his team now had their earth weapons to go after the Jaffa with. Carter explained that the aliens couldn't beam all the Jaffa to them – the Goa'uld had made some kind of jamming device for her servants. And since the aliens and Daniel still couldn't communicate through words, one of them would have to stay in the control room with their new friends and direct them to the enemy. Jack immediately put it on Carter. She could work the technology. And chill out for a bit – she looked awful. Jack wondered fleetingly what she had been up to while they were all in their cells, escaping, wash rinse repeat, but it would have to wait until they were back at the SGC. Right now, they were goin' snake hunting.


	16. Rush

Sam had never been so grateful to be left out of the action. She stood in front of the alien control panel directing her friends toward the few Jaffa in the underground complex, glad the panel wasn't made of naquada but wishing there was a chair she could sit in. In lieu of furniture, she tried to keep her head up and leaned as casually as she could on the panel. It was quite satisfying to watch as each Jaffa's marker disappeared from the map. Finally, while the guys were walking toward the last group of Jaffa, she thought to mime drinking to the aliens. One of them seemed to understand and left the room. Sure enough, he returned after a few minutes with a metal cup of a thick, grey liquid. Definitely not water, what Sam had been hoping for. She was just desperate enough to shrug and give it a try.

As soon as the liquid hit her mouth she knew something was wrong. She started coughing immediately but swallowed a little before she could violently spit out the rest of it. She dropped the cup as her mouth at once went numb and lit on fire, followed by her throat and gut. Retching, she was barely aware of being held upright by the aliens and the excited and worried babble of voices around her. She was laid gently on the ground and she curled up on her side shivering and willing herself to vomit again in hopes it would ease the horrible, shocking pain she now found herself in. She was quite certain that she had never, ever felt so miserable in her entire life. The world around her swayed and blurred, then was gone.

Teal'c surveyed their handiwork with satisfaction. The few Jaffa on the planet had resisted, but they were inferior warriors and, in the end, easily defeated. Teal'c believed that if the aliens device had not automatically transferred them into this facility, they would have had no trouble subduing the enemy. He took the rear as they headed back to the ring platform that would deliver them to the control room, watching his team's exit despite the assurance of the aliens tracking technology. Daniel Jackson walked before him, communicating as well as he could with their new alien ally. The alien seemed most excited by the Goa'uld defeat that Teal'c and his companions had accomplished. He made gestures clearly of thanks to them all, and smiled as he led them back through the maze of corridors.

It was good that they had rid the planet of its Goa'uld infestation, however small. Access to so much naquada would guarantee any Goa'uld dominance, given enough time to exploit it. Teal'c was, however, eager to leave this place. The abundance of naquada had begun to cause his symbiote discomfort to the point that it was becoming not only distracting, but painful as well, and Teal'c knew it must also have been affecting Major Carter, perhaps more than himself. He quickened his pace, encouraging the other to move more quickly, suddenly anxious. They should not have left Major Carter alone in her weakened state.

Daniel puffed a little as they jogged back to the ring platform Sam had found. Now that the excitement was over, he was beginning to realize just how tired, hungry and thirsty he was. He had no idea how much time had passed by, but he was beginning to realize it was quite a significant amount. Teal'c had moved to the front, lumbering onwards as though daring them all to keep up. Daniel glanced to his left and was surprised to see Jack looking as exhausted as he felt. The older man had surprised Daniel in the beginning with his endurance in the field, but he had come to expect it now. Jack, however, looked like he had a stitch in his side, and the bruises the Jaffa and young Goa uld had left during his brief interrogation were beginning to darken. Daniel might have asked Teal'c to slow down if it weren't for the frantic-sounding communication Hvratha had received earlier, calling them back to the control room as quickly as possible.

At first Daniel thought they had been attacked by Jaffa, but that was impossible the tracker had indicated that all the Jaffa had been killed. He grimaced, and ran a little faster. It was a terrible thing, and he didn't think he d ever get used to it, but when it came right down to it, it had to be done. He knew Teal'c would eventually regret the loss of more Jaffa lives, and Jack would counter that they'd had no choice. Sam would smile quietly and find some middle ground, as always, to comfort all three of them. Daniel rather thought a trip to the infirmary would be the first order of business, however. Janet would have a fit at their dehydration levels, let alone the bruises they'd all acquired. He almost smiled at the thought.

Jack waited impatiently while Teal'c worked the control panel and activated the rings. Something was rotten in the state of . . . wherever they were, and something told him it had to do with Carter. She'd been more than a little off when they'd seen her earlier, and now he wished he'd left Daniel behind with her for backup while he and Teal'c and Havarti took care of the Jaffa. He guilt was solidified when the rings deposited them in the control room, revealing a large group of the aliens kneeling around an unconscious Carter, her face twisted in pain, and a puddle of what smelled unpleasantly like vomit on the ground nearby.

CO mode sliding firmly in place, he ordered Daniel to find out about the Stargate. They aliens looked, if possible, even more worried than the rest of them, making gestures of apology and confusion. It was pretty clear to Jack that whatever had happened had been an accident, but at the moment he didn't care. He knelt down beside his teammate and checked her pulse and respiration, checked her spine and looked for signs of blood. Other than the injuries he knew she'd sustained earlier, he couldn't see what was wrong, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed Teal'c bending down and sticking his finger in some sort of thick grey liquid pooled on the ground by a cup. One of the aliens quickly brushed some of the liquid back into the vessel and held it out to Teal'c as though in an offering. Daniel exclaimed in triumph and Jack, bad knees notwithstanding, scooped Carter up off the floor. One of the aliens entered a command into the control consol and one bright flash of light later, they were all standing in front of the Stargate.


	17. Home

Sam woke up slowly. The grey ceiling, odd smell and quiet beeping sounds told her she was in the SGC infirmary. That meant that they had escaped from the alien planet. She was awake, which meant she was alive. She was also feeling about 100 times better than the last time she'd been conscious. Definitely a plus.

"Major Carter."

Teal'c's deep voice drew her attention. The Jaffa was sitting on the bed to her left, calmly watching her. He looked satisfied and pleased that she was awake, but not surprised. That meant she'd only felt like she was dying, and hadn't actually almost died. Another plus. She smiled at him and looked around. Daniel was perched on a bed behind Teal'c. He had an IV in his arm, and Sam realized she had one as well. Probably to help rehydrate them, she reasoned. She looked to her right and saw Colonel O'Neill. He was lying down, but awake and complaining loudly as a nurse checked his own IV. Sam closed her eyes again. Everything was fine.

* * *

Teal'c did not leave the infirmary willingly. He would have stayed until all of his teammates were released, but another SG team had brought back a Goa'uld device that he was familiar with, and his expertise had been required. When he was finished, he went to the mess hall to gather contraband for his teammates. Upon entering, he found Daniel Jackson raiding the jello section.

"Sam always says the infirmary jello tastes like dishwater," he explained.

Teal'c bowed his approval and selected a few cookies for O'Neill – they would be easier to conceal and transport than cake. He also took a piece of pie, of a variety he knew O'Neill did not enjoy.

Together they made their way back to the infirmary. O'Neill looked up expectantly, but Doctor Fraiser had caught them too often in the past and barred their entrance, demanding to see what they had brought. Teal'c forfeited the pie with feigned reluctance, and Doctor Fraiser approved the jello for consumption. Teal'c waited until she was in her office again before delivering the cookies to O'Neill.

* * *

Daniel tried not to grin. Jack had been fussing, as usual, but he should have known not to do it while the nurse was removing his IV. For his trouble, he'd had to stay an extra hour in the infirmary, the nurse citing irritability as a symptom of continued dehydration. Now he sat silently as the same nurse checked his chart and dithered about taking out the needle. He glared at her the whole time, but he didn't say a word.

Daniel glanced over at Doctor Fraiser, who was taking some blood from Sam for another test, and saw her lips twitching. Sam herself was watching the scene with unconcealed amusement, but her head was resting back on her pillow and she kept blinking slowly. They were all exhausted, but the mission had clearly been the hardest on Sam. Daniel was just glad it hadn't been more serious than a bad reaction between the 'gray goop', as Jack called it, and her Tok'ra protein marker.

"Finally!"

Daniel turned his attention back to Jack. The IV had been taken away and he no longer felt the need to be silent. The nurse narrowed her eyes at him, though, and he quickly stood up, citing a need to use the restroom. He escaped before the nurse could argue, glancing guiltily at his still bed-ridden teammate, and signaling Daniel to stay with Sam. As if he would've left her in the infirmary alone.

* * *

It was Jack's turn to sit with Sam. Doc Fraiser said she'd have to stay overnight at the infirmary for 'observation', which meant that the rest of SG-1 was staying at the mountain to take turns keeping her company. It was boring, though; she'd mostly slept for a long time. Jack had asked the Doc so many times if she was _sure_ Carter was alright, and why she had to stay in the infirmary if she was, that Fraiser had threatened to kick him out. So now he sat quietly. Cassie had sent in a Rubik's Cube, which the Major had solved in no time, so now Jack was amusing himself by putting all the blocks in disarray again. He was pretty sure it would either drive Carter nuts or amuse her, but he wasn't sure which. It was a pretty good distraction for him, at any rate, keeping his mind off all that had happened on the planet. The post mission debrief they'd finally done without Carter hadn't been pleasant. He was relieved they'd been busy with that with Cassie came to visit. It might be a few days yet before he could look her in the eyes.

Carter stirred and Jack set the cube down. She opened her eyes and Jack was pleased to see she looked much more alert than she had before – almost like her old self again. It seemed that whatever drugs Fraiser had pumped into her system to counter whatever was in the grey goop were finally working. Carter noticed the Rubik's Cube and she rolled her eyes. Jack gave her a mock stern look.

"Carter, what's our team rule? We never, _ever_, consume unknown alien . . . consumables."

Carter rolled her eyes again, but couldn't quite hold back a smile.

"Yes, Sir."


End file.
